The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday suspended its executive committee member Deepak Sharma until further notice for his alleged physical assault of two women players in Goa, two days after it stopped short of doing the same.
Two footballers of Himachal Pradesh-based Khad FC, taking part in the Indian Women’s Football (IWL) League second division, had alleged that Sharma, the owner of the club, had barged into their room and physically assaulted them on the night of March 28.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said: “The AIFF is determined to promote women’s football in a safe and enabling environment and will take all necessary steps to ensure this. The incident in Goa during IWL 2, should not be amplified to undermine the AIFF’s developmental efforts in women’s football. The particular case has now been referred to the Disciplinary Committee and will be taken up emergently.”
Meanwhile, the AIFF has taken all steps necessary to ensure the safe passage of the complainants to their hometowns and will continue to provide any support that might be necessary.
“This season, for the first time in history, the IWL was played on a home-and-away basis, something that has been appreciated widely. To add to it, we have also started the IWL 2 for the first time, and there is a definite plan to introduce promotion and relegation in the IWL from the next season.”
Per PTI, in the complaint sent to the AIFF, the two players said, according to sources, that Sharma was mostly in an inebriated state and they were “scared for their lives”.
On Tuesday, the AIFF also dissolved the three-member committee formed on March 30 to probe the incident, and instead referred the matter to its Disciplinary Committee.
Chaubey pointed out that the expansion of the IWL has made a huge impact; the good showing of the India Senior Women’s Team in the Turkish Women’s Cup recently is an ample example. India made their best-ever finish (runners-up) and defeated European opponents before losing to ultimate champions Kosovo by a slender margin.
In the Turkish Women’s Cup, India’s Manisha Kalyan was adjudged the best midfielder. A footballer par excellence, Manisha is a prominent Cyprus club Apollon Limassol FC, and played a big role in the club’s second consecutive First Division Women’s League title.
“There are currently 27,030 registered women players in the country. Between September 2022 and March 2024, 15,293 women footballers have been registered in the AIFF Central Registration System portal.
“The increase in the number of women footballers in various age groups is one of the most encouraging trends in Indian Football,” Chaubey said.
